Tyler Oakley to speak at Oakland University

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Tuesday, Sep 13, 2016

Pop Culture Phenomenon Tyler Oakley to speak at Oakland University

Tyler Oakley is scheduled to speak at Oakland University on October 5.

The Student Life Lecture Board at Oakland University has announced that Tyler Oakley will be visiting campus for a lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. The event will be held at the O’Rena on campus and general admission tickets are free to campus community members and the general public.

Tickets are available beginning Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 9 a.m. and will be distributed through the Center for Student Activities ticket window in the lower level of the Oakland Center. Limit of three tickets per person.

The social rights advocate and prominent LGBTQ+ voice on YouTube will be giving a talk and then signing his book — a collection of witty and hilarious personal essays, titledBinge.

“Tyler Oakley has harnessed the power of social media to convey his messages on social rights,” said Jean Ann Miller, Director, Center for Student Activities and Leadership Development. “His witty and humorous style is sure to delight the audience while giving them thought-provoking issues to consider.”

Since uploading his first video to YouTube in 2007 as a college freshman, Oakley has amassed more than 21 million social media followers through his humorous, no-holds-barred YouTube videos, high-profile interviews, and social rights advocacy. Oakley has become an Internet icon, with successes ranging from interviews with First Lady Michelle Obama and boy band One Direction, to a worldwide live tour, and his chart-topping podcast –Psychobabble.

Oakley’s weekly video posts, in which he discusses various topics, including queer politics, pop culture and humor, have been viewed more than 544 million times and have garnered over 8 million subscribers. Currently, he is described as having "one of the loudest voices on YouTube," and Bloomberg defines him as a "YouTube sensation."

Oakley is a former member of the successful collaboration channel "5AwesomeGays," where he produced the weekly video for over three years. Much of Oakley's activism has been dedicated to LGBT youth, LGBT rights, as well as social issues including healthcare, education, and the prevention of suicide among LGBT youth.

In 2014, he was featured in theFrontlineinvestigative report, "Generation Like," which took a close look at how teenagers are directly interacting with pop culture. Also in 2014, Oakley’s efforts earned him two Teen Choice Awards, as well as the Streamy Entertainer of the Year Award and the Streamy Activist Icon of the Year Award.